Bookshelf | Maria Nazdravan

“Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.” —Alain de Botton

currently reading

Books I love

“And as I lay on that bed it occurred to me, terrifyingly, that all of it might not be enough. It was possible that such pleasures, while pleasurable enough, were merely trimmings on a nonexistent tree. It was possible that nothing, not a baby or lack of a baby, not a beautiful house, not rewarding work, was ever going to make us anything other than the chronically dissatisfied, perpetual second-guessers that we already were.”

Particularly Cats

There's no better way to describe this book than delightful. Here's a writer who has lived with cats and been mesmerised by them her entire life. Who sees them as curious individuals with rich inner lives and complex relationships.

“Oh, cat; I’d say, or pray: be-ooootiful cat! Delicious cat! Exquisite cat! Satiny cat! Cat like a soft owl, cat with paws like moths, jewelled cat, miraculous cat! Cat, cat, cat, cat.
She would ignore me first; then turn her head, silkily arrogant, and half close her eyes for each praise-name, each one separately. And, when I’d finished, yawn, foppish, showing an ice-cream-pink mouth and curled pink tongue.”

“Is it my fault that the good times fade to nothing while the bad ones burn forever bright? Memory aside, the negative just makes for a better story: the plane was delayed, an infection set in, outlaws arrived and reduced the schoolhouse to ashes. Happiness is harder to put into words. It’s also harder to source, much more mysterious than anger or sorrow, which come to me promptly, whenever I summon them, and remain long after I’ve begged them to leave.”

graphic novels

Every week, millions of devoted fans tune in to or download This American Life, The Moth, Radiolab, Planet Money, Snap Judgment, Serial, Invisibilia and other narrative radio shows. Using personal stories to breathe life into complex ideas and issues, these beloved programs help us to understand ourselves and our world a little bit better. Each has a distinct style, but every one delivers stories that are brilliantly told and produced. Out on the Wire offers an unexpected window into this new kind of storytelling--one that literally illustrates the making of a purely auditory medium.